The late Patrick Swayze was 'so supportive' pf Jake Gyllenhaal

Jake Gyllenhaal felt the late Patrick Swayze was "so supportive" of him in 'Donnie Darko', and he has praised the late movie legend as a "wonderful mad man"

Jake Gyllenhaal felt the late Patrick Swayze was "so supportive" of him in 'Donnie Darko'.

The 36-year-old actor played the titular role in the 2001 fantasy drama alongside the movie legend - who tragically died in 2009 aged 57 - and the dark-haired hunk has gushed about the 'Dirty Dancing' star and has praised him for encouraging him during his early acting career.

Speaking to ET Online about Swayze - who portrayed Jim Cunningham in the movie - said: "And I remember being really young and he was so supportive and kind."

The 'Southpaw' hunk fondly reminisced about Swayze and likened him to a "wonderful mad man" because he would ride around the film set on an electric scooter.

Gyllenhaal said: "I remember Patrick Swayze having an electric scooter and driving back and forth and he was such a lovely man, he was just filled with so much love and kindness.

"And then I have this really crazy picture I took of him on his electric scooter, and he just looks like this wonderful mad man."

Meanwhile, the dark-haired hunk has credited the production, which was directed by Richard Kelly, as being a "rite of passage" for him and for the viewers because of its depiction of adolescence.

He said: "That was a movie that was more about the psychological journey of adolescence and the confusion of it all.

"I've seen it as a rite of passage. "At a certain point in different people's lives, [they] are like, 'I remember watching.'"

And the 42-year-old filmmaker has described the hit film as a "slow burner" rather than a "quick flame" because he felt it needed "time to marinate" with the viewers.

He said: "This movie just needed to take its time to marinate and it needed to be discovered, I guess. That's the path it was meant to take.

"I'll take the slow burn over the quick flame any day.

"People can revisit it and discover new things each time they watch it."